Biomedical subjects

Andrea Cercek

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Cercek.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Molecular and Clinical Determinants of Targeted Therapy Treatment in Biliary Tract Cancer.

PURPOSE: Actionable genomic alterations occur in all anatomic subsets of biliary tract cancer; however, targeted therapies have not shown a survival advantage over cytotoxics, and resistance mechanisms require further characterization. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We analyzed a prospectively maintained cohort of 1,254 patients with histologically confirmed biliary tract cancer who underwent molecular profiling using an FDA-authorized targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay. We defined actionable alterations across anatomic subsets, compared outcomes with targeted therapy versus cytotoxics, and evaluated genomic correlates of resistance using longitudinal samples. RESULTS: Overall, 59% of patients harbored at least one OncoKB alteration, and 32.2% (intrahepatic 40%, extrahepatic 15%, and gallbladder 22%) had a level 1/2 alteration. Emerging targets included KRAS alterations (17%), MTAP deletions (12.8%), MDM2 amplification (6.5%), and MET amplification (1.5%). Targeted therapy was associated with improved progression-free survival but not overall survival. Co-occurring TP53/RAS pathway and SMAD4 alterations were associated with inferior outcomes in IDH1/FGFR2-and ERBB2-driven tumors, respectively. Longitudinal profiling demonstrated ERBB2 loss in ERBB2-driven tumors, whereas IDH-, FGFR-, BRAF-, and NTRK-driven tumors retained the primary oncogenic driver. Acquired resistance was associated with alterations in RAS, MEK, MET, MYC, and CDKN2A. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive molecular profiling study illustrates the real-world utility and limitations of targeted NGS of biliary tract cancer and affirms the use of precision medicine in patients with these diseases. Genomic heterogeneity and therapeutic resistance observed in this study has the potential to inform ongoing drug development efforts for biliary tract cancer.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Risk of Relapse and Efficacy of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Localized Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma.

IMPORTANCE: Relapse risk and benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) are uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To identify clinicopathologic and genomic factors associated with relapse and assess efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in localized AA. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study (January 2000 through February 2024; median follow-up, 62.6 months) used Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards modeling. It took place at the University of Texas MD (UT MD) Anderson Cancer Center with validation from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Participants included a complete localized cohort of 439 patients with stage I to III AA from UT MD Anderson, of whom 202 underwent surgery at UT MD Anderson and also included a validation cohort of 128 patients with stage II AA from MSKCC. EXPOSURES: Surgical resection with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Rate of recurrence, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: There were 439 patients with localized AA (median age, 56.5 [IQR, 22.2-83.7] years; 50% female and 50% male) managed at MD Anderson between January 2000 and February 2024. Of 202 MDA surgical patients, 19 (9.4%) had a relapse including 9 (6%) patients with stage II and 8 (19.5%) of patients stage III disease. Five-year OS was 95.7% without vs 77.2% with relapse (hazard ratio [HR], 5.50; 95% CI, 3.07-9.83; P < .001). Relative to goblet cell tumors, mucinous (HR, 5.60; 95% CI, 2.1-15; P < .001) and enteric-type (HR, 6.60; 95% CI, 2.9-15; P < .001) histologies were independently associated with relapse, as was pathologic T4 (HR, 3.30; 95% CI, 1.9-5.7; P < .001). Importantly, poor differentiation, perforation, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion, known risk factors in colorectal cancer, were not significantly associated with relapse. For the complete localized cohort, adjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with improved RFS (univariate HR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.36-3.13; P = .001 and multivariable HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.43-2.28; P = .90) or OS (univariate HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.0-3.2; P = .04 and multivariable HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.24-2.1; P = .53). TP53 mutation in goblet cell tumors (HR, 6.93; 95% CI, 1.50-31.00; P = .01) and GNAS mutation in nongoblet tumors (HR, 17.0; 95% CI, 3.09-93.3; P = .001) were associated with greater risk of relapse. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These results demonstrate that relapse after resection of localized AA is uncommon. Molecular profiling and histopathologic subtype refine risk. Adjuvant chemotherapy were not associated with benefit.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Integrated clinicogenomic analysis reveals the evolution and metastatic tropisms of advanced colorectal cancer.

We performed an integrated clinical and genomic analysis of over 7,000 consecutively sequenced colorectal cancer (CRC) samples to comprehensively characterize genetic drivers and metastatic tropisms of CRC. We find that genomic evolutionary changes, such as clonal mutations and oncogenic mutant allelic imbalance, selectively enhance the impact of recurrent oncogenic alterations. We identify the relative timing of organ-specific metastasis, showing sequential metastatic progression in microsatellite stable CRC with brain and adrenal metastases as late events; metastatic sites that cluster together, such as lung, bone, and brain metastases; and genomic events that enhance or decrease risk for each metastatic site, with WNT pathway activation as overall protective while RAS pathway activation increased risk for spread to all metastatic sites. Our data suggest that despite the heterogeneity in CRC, genomic evolution increases the impact of recurrent alterations, and integrating information about tumor primary location and genomics can be used to predict organ-specific metastasis risk.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Tumor microbial burden drives immune responses through regulation of Interferon signaling.

Tumor microbes are increasingly recognized for modulating tumor behavior and therapy responses. Intratumoral microbial burden (ITMB) analysis across cancers revealed regulation of immune pathways, and activated mast cells, mostly in colorectal (CRC) and gastric (STAD) cancers. High ITMB CRC leads to interferon regulation and is associated with improved outcomes in advanced disease. Single-cell sequencing revealed induction of interferon-related genes (IRGs) within microbes-containing human CRC. GI-luminal mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd) tumors had higher ITMB than proficient tumors (MMRp). In a rectal MMRd cohort with 100% remission after immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), tumor microbes and microbes-containing mast cells increased. In ICB-sensitive syngeneic murine MMRd tumor models, local tumor microbial depletion, impaired ICB efficacy while downregulating IFN signaling. Forced upregulation of IRGs in ADAR1-deficient cancer cells restored immunotherapy responses during microbial ablation. These data highlight dynamic interplay between ITMB, host defense, and immunogenicity which seems key to determine therapy responses.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2024

Molecular and Clinical Determinants of Acquired Resistance and Treatment Duration for Targeted Therapies in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: Targeted therapies have improved outcomes for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, but their impact is limited by rapid emergence of resistance. We hypothesized that an understanding of the underlying genetic mechanisms and intrinsic tumor features that mediate resistance to therapy will guide new therapeutic strategies and ultimately allow the prevention of resistance. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We assembled a series of 52 patients with paired pretreatment and progression samples who received therapy targeting EGFR (n = 17), BRAF V600E (n = 17), KRAS G12C (n = 15), or amplified HER2 (n = 3) to identify molecular and clinical factors associated with time on treatment (TOT). RESULTS: All patients stopped treatment for progression and TOT did not vary by oncogenic driver (P = 0.5). Baseline disease burden (≥3 vs. <3 sites, P = 0.02), the presence of hepatic metastases (P = 0.02), and gene amplification on baseline tissue (P = 0.03) were each associated with shorter TOT. We found evidence of chromosomal instability (CIN) at progression in patients with baseline MAPK pathway amplifications and those with acquired gene amplifications. At resistance, copy-number changes (P = 0.008) and high number (≥5) of acquired alterations (P = 0.04) were associated with shorter TOT. Patients with hepatic metastases demonstrated both higher number of emergent alterations at resistance and enrichment of mutations involving receptor tyrosine kinases. CONCLUSIONS: Our genomic analysis suggests that high baseline CIN or effective induction of enhanced mutagenesis on targeted therapy underlies rapid progression. Longer response appears to result from a progressive acquisition of genomic or chromosomal instability in the underlying cancer or from the chance event of a new resistance alteration.

Humans↗